Every day is an adventure

March 18, 2011

Cross-Training - It Works!!!!

I have hardly been in the pool at all the past few months. Seriously, I could count on one hand the number of times I've been swimming since the calendar flipped over to 2011. But today, spurred on by the realization that I'm doing a triathlon (indoor tri at the YMCA) in two weeks, I finally got my butt back in the pool, and much to my surprise, it went fabulous!

I thought for sure I'd be struggling, and taking lots of breaks, but it was just the opposite. I felt so strong, and ended up swimming a mile in about 45 minutes, which is pretty much my average pace. I was very pleasantly surprised, and I attribute it to all the upper body weight lifting I've been doing. My arms and back and shoulders are so much stronger right now than they've ever been, and I really feel like it helped a ton.

I know I still need to get back to doing drills and improving my stroke, but I don't feel like I'm starting from scratch, which is encouraging. The tri that I'm doing is time-based, and includes 15 minutes in the pool, and I think I should be able to pull off about 600m in that time, which I'll be thrilled with.

I should probably get on the stationary bike a few times in the next couple weeks, too, just to get myself comfortable with biking again, since that's another thing I haven't done in what seems like eons.

I'll be out on the bike again soon, though. Spring is in the air, for sure. It's going to cool off again this weekend, but today it was up near 70! We spent all afternoon at the park with friends, and we did that yesterday, too. Glorious! Can't wait until the nice weather is here to stay!!!!

I also can't wait until the work on the house is finished. The painters are just about done with the work they were doing downstairs - the family room and kitchen - and those parts of the house are almost put back together again. They had to move so much stuff, and I hate having everything out of place, so it was kind of driving me batty. But they'll be finished up wtih that work Monday, and will also paint the new bedroom on Monday, and then all that remains is carpeting and finish work - lighting fixtures, closet doors, baseboards....

We had hoped to have the boys moved in by Easter, but if things proceed as planned, I think they might even be in a week or two before that! The end is definitely in sight, and it's sooooo exciting!!!!

Comments

Cross training sure works, especially when coupled with discipline and the will to succeed. Also, not only do you improve your body, it also improves your social life by creating group discussions or forums and tackling the best exercise for a certain muscle region.